GitHub Engineer Quits, Alleging Sexism and Harassment

Github responded by suspending the co-founder and fellow co-worker in question, and promising a full investigation.

People like Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg have helped chip away at the technology industry's glass ceiling, but not all Silicon Valley firms are as forward-thinking, according to a Github developer who quit recently, alleging harassment.

Github has responded, promising a full investigation, but Julie Ann Horvath tweeted this weekend that "nothing will be resolved on my end until both of those men are asked to step down."

Horvath announced her departure from Github in a series of tweets in which she said she had "been harassed by 'leadership' at GitHub for two years."

Horvath elaborated on those accusations in a conversation with TechCrunch, which implicated a Github founder's wife, as well as a male co-worker.

The co-founder's wife reportedly asked Horvath out for drinksan invitation she readily accepted, "seeing as she was my boss's wife and I'm always looking to meet women I can look up to," she told TechCrunch.

"I met her and almost immediately the conversation that I thought was supposed to be casual turned into something very inappropriate," Horvath continued. According to her account, the founder's wife threatened Horvath, saying that she'd "better not leave GitHub and write something bad about them," and that the wife, who apparently informs her husband's decision-making at the company, was told to make Horvath "very happy" so she wouldn't quit and undermine the business.

The episode made its way to HR, but nothing was done. Meanwhile, the wife - who was not employed by Github - then allegedly came into the office and sat near Horvath to "make a point of intimidating" her, Horvath told TechCrunch.

In response, Github CEO and co-founder Chris Wanstrath said in a Sunday statement that "we know we have to take action and have begun a full investigation."

"While that's ongoing, and effective immediately, the relevant founder has been put on leave, as has the referenced GitHub engineer," he wrote.

The founder's wife, meanwhile, has "never had hiring or firing power at GitHub," Wanstrath promised, adding that she is no longer allowed in the office.

"We still have work to do. We know that," the CEO said. "However, making sure GitHub employees are getting the right feedback and have a safe way to voice their concerns is a primary focus of the company."

Wanstrath praised Horvath's contributions to Github, citing her Passion Projects organization and the work she's done to "help us become a more diverse company."

"I would like to personally apologize to Julie," he wrote. "It's certain that there were things we could have done differently. We wish Julie well in her future endeavors."

Horvath did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment.

On Saturday, she tweeted about a new, mysterious job opportunity, writing that "I'm incredibly happy to [be] moving on to join a more healthy work environment, with a team who doesn't tolerate harassment of their peers."

I'm not quitting tech. I'm not gonna hide. This is my community. These are my people.

Stephanie began as a PCMag reporter in May 2012. She moved to New York City from Frederick, Md., where she worked for four years as a multimedia reporter at the second-largest daily newspaper in Maryland. She interned at Baltimore magazine and graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (in the town of Indiana, in the state of Pennsylvania) with a degree in journalism and mass communications.
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